Rush. Rush. Rush. Put your shoes on. Get in the car. We are going to be late. Hurry. Hurry. Hurry. No, you can't play video games while we watch church online. Where is your sister? Hit play. Whether you are doing church at home or going to a physical building, the moments leading up to worship can be kind of stressful.

Developing intimacy with God through worship begins before we show up at church for worship. Most church services start with a worship time that lasts 15 to 20 minutes. This doesn't allow for a lot of time to connect deeply with the Lord during worship. To experience all that God has planned for us through worship, we need to prepare our hearts before we step through the doors of the church or click play to start church online. 

In my own life, it has been helpful to begin preparing my heart for worship 24 hours before participating in a worship experience. Preparing my heart for worship might look something like the following prayer.

"Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the opportunity to come before you in worship. I ask that you would reveal any sin or blindspot in my life that would prevent me from fully entering into worship. As I enter into worship, I ask that you meet me where I am, for you alone know my heart and needs. Lord, if you choose, please reveal to me how you are working in the lives of others who are also attending church and how you want me to intercede in prayer on their behalf. Lord, I pray against any distraction that Satan may have planned to try to prevent me from fully worshiping you. Amen."

The prayer above includes five intentional elements to prepare our hearts for worship and grow in intimacy with the Lord.

1. Gratefulness to God for the opportunity to worship Him. Gratitude pushes back our pride and selfish desires. As gratitude grows in our hearts, the baggage of worry and doubt that we carried into the worship experience begins to subside.

"Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness." Psalms 29:2 ESV

2. Identifying and confessing any sin that may hinder us from entering into the presence of the Lord. We all have spiritual blind spots. Pray that the Holy Spirit would fill your heart with a Godly grief that leads to repentance.

"If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8 ESV

3. Asking the Lord Jesus to give us comfort, healing, and intimacy. Close your eyes. Go to your unique place of intimacy with the Lord Jesus. Sit down. Let Him wrap His loving arms you. Face to face, He calls you by name and begins to exchange the poison in your heart with new strength and new peace.

"You will say in that day: "I will give thanks to you, O Lord, for though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort me." Isaiah 12:1 ESV

4. God wants to partner with you to intercede in prayer on behalf of others. It might be a family member in your own living room or a total stranger standing next to you at an in-person church service. God will often reveal specific ways you can pray for others during worship. Maybe it will be for physical healing, renewed strength for a single mom, or salvation for the unbeliever.

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." James 5:16 ESV

5. Praying against Satan's plans to distract us from worship. Satan would love nothing more than to distract us from moments of intimacy with God. Maybe he will remind you about that big project coming up at work. Or worse, he may start to attack your position as a child of God, whispering lies like, "you are not worthy of being in God's presence." But like a professional athlete or a heart surgeon, with the help of the Holy Spirit we need to focus our mind on God's presence, pushing back all distractions.

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers." Luke 22:31-32 ESV

Choose today to intentionally prepare your heart for worship and see if the Lord won't reward you with increased intimacy as you seek to draw closer to him.

Featured Music

Jesus Culture - Anything Can Happen

When we take time to prepare our hearts for worship, "anything can happen." The following lyrics speak to how God wants to move in our lives during worship when we are intentional about posturing ourselves before him. "Come and break addiction | Lead us into freedom | Anything can happen in this place | Give us dreams and visions | Let us see Your kingdom | Anything can happen in this place."

About the Author

Nathan Miller

You may know me as a husband, father, son, brother, friend, mentor, ultra marathoner runner, NBA basketball enthusiast, fan of all things tech, music lover and writer. However, the life blood that flows through everything that I strive to be comes from a desire for greater intimacy with Jesus Christ. He is my savior, my provider, my lord and most of all my best friend.